Sometimes we buy appliances that spend more time collecting dust than being used. I often hear this happening with juicers that can take a lot of time to clean after use. Perhaps you have one in your kitchen that hasn’t seen the light of day in ages.

What about your blender? How often does it get used? Do you use it to make green smoothies? Green smoothies are a delicious way to get the nutrients from greens and are quick and easy to make. And if you have any young, picky eaters in your family who hate veggies, this can be a good way to get them to eat them. Add in some fruit and they will forget they’re drinking veggies.

If you’ve tried green smoothies before and didn’t like the taste, don’t give up. There are countless green smoothies you can make and there’s surely one that will please your palate.

Some of the benefits of green smoothies are that they:

• provide live enzymes that help your cells repair and build themselves

• help combat acidity in the body from the Standard American Diet (SAD)

• help your body be more alkaline

• help cleanse the body with the fiber content, which will help keep you regular, and the chlorophyll in the greens

• provide lots of nutrients in one shake

Here’s a great recipe I bet you’ll like:

Peary Green Smoothie

2 handfuls of spinach

2 cups of almond milk

1 ripe pear

½ ripe banana

1 inch cucumber

½ inch ginger

1 tbsp soaked chia seeds

Soak chia seeds for 10 minutes. Blend the spinach and almond milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend again until you get the consistency you want.

You can substitute the spinach for another green, such as kale or collard greens, and almond milk for another milk alternative, such as coconut milk. Adjust the measurements to your liking.

You’ll be giving your body antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, good fats, and phytonutrients, and it can also help with inflammation. It’s best to drink it right after blending, but you can keep it in the fridge in a tightly sealed container such as a mason jar for up to three days.

As you can see, there are many great reasons to drink green smoothies. So get out your blender and give your body some greens.